Beneath the sun and beyond the ocean

Erebus

"Hey girl, you can't stay here, morning mass is about to start." The cold voice wakes me and I sit up on the church bench, wincing from my aching joints. The priest stands above me, pity in his eyes. He probably thinks I'm homeless or something. I grab my bag quickly and almost run out the church doors, escaping the embarrassment. I notice a couple messages on my phone from Dali, she's probably worried about me not coming home last night. I'll just tell her I stayed at Li's again. The town is a completely different place than last night: quiet, empty, almost lonely in a way; reflecting my torn insides.

I go to my beach, I'm still not ready to face Dali. I shoot her a quick text, just to make sure she doesn't go to the police or anything stupid like that. I feel myself hoping to see a mop of shaggy brown hair climbing down the hill and walking towards me. He doesn't come. Instead dark straight hair appears. Erebus? What's he doing here? He spots me and makes his way across the beach slowly towards me. As he nears I hear him ask,
"Where's Aelius?" I would have thought he'd know.
"I'm not sure, haven't seen him since last night. Why?" I reply, wondering where he could be. I remember him saying something about his cousin.

"Him and Jere left before I woke up, I thought he'd have taken him here." 
"Haven't seen him." He pauses, not sure what to reply. His curious icy eyes stare up at me, I can't work out what's going through his mind. He's not as readable as Li is. 
"Mind if I join you?" His grin is mischievous, like he has some sort of plan. I'm too exhausted to care about whatever scheme he's trying to pull off, so I agree and he climbs up the rock, taking Aelius' spot with his navy blue towel.

He pulls of his thin black top and lies down next to me, the sun lighting up his pale skin. I observe him, he's definitely not as athletic as Li. More lean and thin, but with a prominent six pack all the same. I lie down next to him, still with my oversized shirt covering my bikini. I soon fall asleep, exhausted from the restless night. 

Angry voices wake me unpleasantly, unlike the usual soft manner Li wakes me with. I look down to see Erebus has climbed off the rock and is now bickering with Aelius. I don't think I've seen him so annoyed. 
"So why'd you take Jeremy to the main beach instead of here? Got something to hide?" Erebus seems to purposefully piss off Li as I see anger build in his furrowed brow.
"This isn't your beach, just leave." He replies, obviously trying hard to hold it together. Erebus' pale eyes notice me sit up and addresses me.
"What do you want Marina?" He asks, "Do you want me to leave?" I watch him curiously as I figure out his master plan. This was literally all to just annoy Li. I don't think I like him much.

"It's not just up to me, if Li doesn't want you here then I think you should go." I plaster a cold stare across my tired face and watch as his grin turns into a dark frown. If he thought he could use me against Aelius then he has another thing coming. Li's face softens, sending me a thankful glance as Erebus storms off, kicking sand up behind him as he stomps away. Li claims his spot on the rock once more and I rest my head on his shoulder as he sits beside me; just as I should have done the night before, maybe then my evening would have been different. Maybe then I wouldn't have seen him. 

I don't think I'll tell him about it; he'll probably feel guilty, even though it wasn't his fault. I don't think I'll tell anyone about it. I don't think I want to. The day is spent in a dreamy bliss as I slowly forget about the previous events. We splash in the water and laze around on the beach, it feels like nothing else exists; I like it this way. We end up cross legged across from each other on the rock, our bruised and battered knees almost touching. My elbow is rested on my leg, and my hand on my face, holding my tired head up. He plays with a small blue-green flower, looping it around his fingers as I watch, mesmerised by his soft hands. He looks upwards, catching my gaze, and tucks the flower behind my ear, twisted into my half-wet hair. 

"It matches your eyes." He remarks, smiling tenderly. Our eyes catch, locked together by a thousand padlocks; unable to look away, I marvel at the brilliant shades of brown and green in his lit up eyes. I wonder what it would be like to kiss him. He starts to lean slowly forwards, I might just find out. My eyes unlock from his, only to land on his lips. I feel myself leaning inwards, matching his snail-paced movements. I feel like a dumb middle schooler; I can't work out whether this is a good decision or bad.

"Aelius?" I jump backwards as I hear a voice call out from across the beach. A pretty girl walks towards us; she looks to be around our age. Her brown hair is shorter than a bob, more like a boy cut, and as she nears I notice she has the darkest green eyes I've ever seen. Is she Li's girlfriend. I heard he was dating some girl before; Josie? But I thought they broke up. I turn towards Li with stony eyes, demanding an explanation with a frown. All my questions are answered with a swift word as he greats her.

"Danny? What are you doing here?" He asks. I thought Danny was a boy, must be a nickname. She eyes me up and down before replying.
"Your mum sent me to get you for dinner, Era said you'd be here." She glances at me, "You should bring your friend as well, there's a spare seat at the table." Li looks towards me with quizzing eyes as I freeze up, unsure of what he wants me to say.

"You wanna come for dinner?" He asks with pleading eyes, "I could use some company with Era and Jere both interrogating me." That's all the convincing I need and I agree politely, sending Dali a quick text as I pack my things. We walk the route back to his house and I walk through the familiar doors, greeted by a curious mother. She asks me prying questions until Li finally saves me, leading me into the lounge. I end up sat between him and Jere, who can't take his eyes or his words off of me. I regret coming.

"So are you Aelius' girlfriend?" 
"No we're just friends."
"You sure about that?" He asks and I turn towards Li, unsure of how to answer.
"Yeah, definitely just friends." Aelius answers for me and my heart drops a little, I'm unsure why. The evening continues with idle chatter and delicious food until it's finally time for me to leave. It actually turned out to be an alright night surprisingly. I walk home slowly, enjoying the low sun shining on my side as I wander along the cliffside, eventually arriving home. 

"How was it?" I'm bombarded with questions as soon as I step through the door. 
"It was alright." I reply honestly. 
"So not terrible or weird?" Her hopeful face makes me laugh.
"No, not at all like Aaron's house." I answer her unasked question. Much better than the awkward dinner with Aaron's smoking parents and high sister a year ago.

I head upstairs and get ready to sleep in my own bed for the first time in ages. The soft sheets welcome me, cooling down my flushed body. I think over the evening. I definitely don't like Erebus or Jeremy, but Danny seems sweet; I'd like to see more of her. I can't stop thinking of that almost kiss earlier; it plagues my mind with endless what ifs. After what feels like forever I finally drift off into a deep dream-riddled sleep.